Oxford Metrics shares fell after the technology group warned it expected an adjusted operating loss of up to £3.9m, overshadowing its £525,000 acquisition of AI-powered motion-capture specialist Move AI on Friday.

The London-listed group, which owns motion-capture business Vicon, expects revenue of £47m-£51m for its current 15-month financial period and an adjusted operating loss of £0.5m-£3.9m, against previous market expectations of a profit of about £3m. Management cited weaker investment across film, television and gaming, softer demand for virtual production, pressure on life sciences research budgets and delays to a major inspection project.

Shares fell by around 6-7% in afternoon trading, having earlier hit a 52-week low of 27.5p, compared with a previous close of 34.9p.

The Move AI acquisition is intended to accelerate Vicon’s markerless motion-capture strategy, adding technology that uses artificial intelligence, computer vision and human biomechanics to turn video into detailed 3D motion data without markers or specialist suits. The deal includes Move AI’s intellectual property, patents, specialist team and customer base, with consideration of £525,000 in cash, rising to about £725,000 including immediate transaction expenses.

Move AI reported unaudited revenue of £1.1m for the year ended 31 December 2025, with gross margins in line with Vicon’s.

The acquisition follows Vicon’s purchase of Captive Devices in September, which added markerless facial capture to its body-tracking capabilities. Move AI further expands its offering, spanning single-camera tools for individual creators through to professional multi-camera and real-time systems, including its Genesis platform.

Gary Bullard, non-executive chair and interim CEO of Oxford Metrics, said: “This acquisition is closely aligned with our strategy to broaden Vicon’s markerless capabilities while maintaining its leadership in optical motion capture."

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